Wine Not? The App Revolutionizing with Jeff Gillis Pt. 2
Get ready to pop the cork because we're diving into the world of wine in a totally fresh way! Forrest Kelly chats with Jeff Gillis, the mastermind behind The Wine Likes App, where the goal is to make wine tasting more social and, let’s be real, way more fun. We get the inside scoop on how the app uses quirky questions—like whether you prefer salt on your fries—to match you with wines you might not know you’d love. Jeff spills the tea on why they’re ditching the AI and algorithms, championing good ol’ human interaction instead. So, whether you're a wine newbie or a seasoned sommelier, this convo is packed with tips, laughs, and the kind of wine wisdom that’ll have you saying, “Cheers!” in no time.
Your Host: Forrest Kelly is an experienced Radio/TV broadcaster who has interviewed some of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities, from Garth Brooks to Kevin Costner. A lover of wine who is fascinated by the science behind it.
Voted One of The Best Travel, Top 5 Minute, and Top Wine Podcasts.
Takeaways:
- The Wine Likes App is all about enhancing your wine experience through personalized tasting profiles, making wine exploration feel like a fun game rather than a chore.
- Jeff Gillis emphasizes that drinking wine should be about personal preference, so if you love red with fish, who cares about the rules?!
- The app proudly avoids AI and algorithms, focusing instead on genuine user interactions and real wine enthusiasts sharing their insights, which is quite refreshing!
- With a unique grape icon system, users can easily identify sommeliers and winemakers, promoting transparency and trust within the wine community.
- The creators of the app believe that everyone, whether a novice or expert, should feel comfortable sharing their wine adventures and asking questions without any judgment.
- By shifting focus from traditional social media to engaging games, The Wine Likes App aims to make discovering new wines a fun and social experience rather than just scrolling through posts.
00:00 - None
00:00 - Introduction to the Podcast
00:22 - Understanding Tasting Profiles in Wine Selection
01:17 - Learning Through Experience
02:11 - Exploring the World of Wine
03:41 - The Intersection of Expertise and Amateurism in Wine Culture
04:19 - Exploring Social Media Strategies for Marketing
Forrest Kelly
Welcome. Welcome to The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast with Forrest Kelly
Jeff Gillis
If you see a person with a purple grape next to their name, that.
Forrest Kelly
Means The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast.
Jeff Gillis
Tries just sitting down at your computer at night and just entering all those. It's not an easy task.
Forrest Kelly
And it's surprising, too, when I went to the app that those profiles that you put at the beginning, those are specific targeted tasting profiles. So when it asks you if you like salt on your fries, it's just not asking because of a silly question. There's a reason behind it, right?
Jeff Gillis
Correct. The reason is it will automatically follow.So it will bring up if someone posts one of those wines that you might like and you don't know that person. It's just meant to be more of a communication idea of, okay, oh, wow, I should check out this line.You know, let me go to the supermarket or wherever you buy wine or say, okay, I'm supposedly try this and let me try. Try it. So that's why we do that, just to help you out, but also help you find basically new wines to drink or taste.
Forrest Kelly
So you being a. There's that word again. Okay. Yeah. Okay, now I can say sommelier.
Jeff Gillis
Thanks.
Forrest Kelly
You being that. Have you learned anything new putting this whole app together?
Jeff Gillis
And I mean, I'm a wset, which is certified. It's. There's just. It's such a vast. Right. You learn so much more while you're actually doing it. And especially, I think I would say we don't have.We're proud to say we don't have any AI or algorithms in the app. And that's something we're really proud of.And the most important thing is, yeah, you can spend time trying to pair wines and everything, but I always say, drink what you want to drink, eat what you want to eat. I love fish and I love red wine, you know, and a lot of people say that's faux pas, but I don't think so at all because I just enjoy it, though.And I think I learned just from doing all of the quizzes and making the quizzes just more. More about wine and everything. And like you said, there's so many regions and so much out there that is, you know, not even discovered yet.When you're learning about wine, especially all the different varietals from Europe or especially Eastern Europe, you know, where wine pretty.
Forrest Kelly
Much originated, the wines that are listed on there. Are those businesses that you've approached?
Jeff Gillis
No. And some are businesses, but really that's whoever's posting on the app. Those are wines. There is a section we haven't monetized.There is monetization. But we're first still building out users and then we will monetize it. But what I'm proud of to say is we do have some winemakers on there.If you see a person with a purple grape next to their name, that means they are a sommelier. They submitted their paperwork, which is free. We don't not like other companies that charge you to be verified.And in 2025, we're rolling out with a green grape. And a green grape will mean your win maker. And what's fun is what I always liked is where you asked me, you know, how did you come up with this idea?You know, I think people who collect wine discover wine, who's a little more advanced, you know, go to some of the regular wine apps to talk to people and you really don't know who you're talking to. Jeff215 and it's like, @ least we're trying to be more transparent. Said, okay, this person actually makes wine.Or I'm actually talking to a sommelier who knows something and I want to take his advice. You know, even on Instagram or one of those social media apps, you don't really know who you're talking to.
Forrest Kelly
Sounds like you've got your amateurs who may have a viewpoint that somebody aligns with because of this beginner being able to participate and tell their thoughts along with somebody who is an expert. Yeah, you're getting both sides.
Jeff Gillis
Yeah. And that's what we love. You know, some people might be embarrassed, hey, I'm having this $5 wine. I might not want to show that off.That's why we have that discussion feature. Instead of posting a picture, you can post a question and be like, hey, what do you like? Or, I'm out this weekend and I want to impress my date.What wines do you suggest?
Forrest Kelly
Have you hit any, any roadblocks or any difficulties?
Jeff Gillis
I think with anything marketing, to be honest, is, you know, developed this app and we thought, let's tackle social media. And then we're like, this isn't going to work.I think the biggest issue is once you post on one social media app, you don't want to post on another social media app. And so that's why we're, that's why we shift in concentrating on the games. And I think that's where the fun is in the app.And that's what's different between besides a social media app and a wine app. Hopefully you play on my wine mics and then go, oh, I want to go try that wine.
Forrest Kelly
The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast
Forrest Kelly
Don't forget my favorite part.
Forrest Kelly
Please, please like and I won't.